Jamee Adams

This week's surprise statement is centered on the reading titled: "New partnership to protect $2.5trn ocean economy." What struck me about this reading was the approach with which the topic of protecting the ocean was tackled. As a student majoring in oceanography my first instinct when looking at a problem associated with the ocean is almost always in a scientific way. In this piece it was like the science was playing catch-up to the economic statistics. It was not good enough to center the issue of overfishing in the context of how important oceans are to regulating our climate, but instead it was more beneficial in this case to lead the reader to understand the industry that was being exploited and what monetary consequences this currently posed and may continue to affect in the future if action is not taken. This way of looking at the oceans I think was beneficial for me, just as I think looking at the oceans through a scientific lens may be beneficial for an economist. I think the end of the article made a good point that cooperation "among leaders in science, business, society and government" is "critical as we fight for the future of our oceans.”

Rayn Allen

This week I thought The Ocean Economy in 2030 was the most surprising. I thought it was interesting that the ocean economy is expected to surpass the growth of the global economy so quickly. I hadn’t really thought about just how much the ocean contributes to the economy. Although this growth of the ocean economy causes me to worry about how quickly this will affect the ocean due to the increases in ocean acidification, pollution, and potentials for over fishing.

Anna Bakker

I was intrigued by the 5th “big picture” concept about how the ocean is tied into the U.S.  It states that the fisheries industry is declining in importance, which I find almost hard to believe because, especially after living here in Seattle, I feel like the fishing industry is so important to coastal cities.  I’m curious to know if aquaculture is a better alternative to real people going out and harvesting seafood.  I have learned a good amount about aquaculture, but have always come to the conclusion that it is not sustainable (disease, nutrient pollution, anoxia, stress on the aquatic life in general).  Of all the industries that could be declining, I feel surprised that fisheries is one of them.  I hope that one day we can find a way to fish sustainably while not putting fishermen out of a job!

Frigyes (Mano) Barkovics

This week has just been incredible for our class, on last Wednesday we had the opportunity to have Commander Charles McGuire who served 3 years on as an Executive Officer. His presentation was engaging and informational which I love to see hence being an Informatics student. We also had the pleasure to have him back on Monday to ask him more personal questions, and to reflect on his experiences throughout his naval career. I’m considering contacting Charles and see if we can get coffee with him because I’ve been fascinated with submarines/submersibles ever since I was a child, I even made a Virtual Reality Deep Dive Experience which I will plan to expand on it for our final project, more on this at our meeting on Friday at 2:00pm.

For this week’s Surprise Statement, I will be reflecting on the America's Ocean-Powered Economy Article written by Svati Kirsten Narula. The section that I found intriguing is that the article mentions that the freight industry is becoming more productive with fewer workers which applies to every sort of industries that currently exists, such as cutting down on pilots so an airplane no longer need 5 people in the cabin, and currently Tesla is working on creating drone semi-trucks which could potentially result in massive layoffs amongst truckers. However, creating such technologies is also advantageous to humanity, because it reduces endangering crews and human errors. As the article mentions Transportation of cargo at sea encompassed by four out of five industries in this sector, if the industry does decide to pursue innovating and implementing drone ships then that would mean saving tremendous amounts of money, but would this be morally and ethically acceptable?

Signe Bergman

I was surprised by several items within the Law of the Sea document. The idea of states claiming “offshore artificial islands” as a usage right in the ocean was strange. I thought I heard of China wanting to make a “garbage island” but I couldn’t find anything after searching for information on it. I was also surprised that the United States is not among the majority of states that are parties to the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea. Why?

Marisa Borreggine

I knew what I was surprised about as soon as I started this reading-I didn't realize that military officers actually sat around 'playing war games' as a way to come up with actual strategy. It does make sense that this would be the best way to predict what might happen in any simulated situation, but the thought of workshop after workshop deciding our national security strategies sounds pretty funny to me. I was also surprised to find that international law, a concept I have rarely given much thought to, riles up so many people in our government and military!

Lisa Burk

This reading really put into perspective the importance of all ocean topics intertwined and relating back to the people. The predicted flux of USD from 1.5 to 3 trillion over the years of 2010-2030 is already in progress. People care about the USD, and ocean trade is something that draws attention as well. I feel like we have all heard these other industries contributing to our economic situation ; travel industry, fishing, oil, ocean related commerce. What I don't usually think of is the jobs created by our development in ocean tech, the efforts against pollution, and other research being done to improve our aquatic environment. Right now I wonder if this will be changing due to our current government issues, though it was said the work still needs to be done and there are independent contractors hiring if not federal. I fully agree that there should be a maintained government alignment and regulations to protect the sea and prologue our time on this planet, but I do not see that as being realistic. It may be possible however to level the playing field with other regions as to create a more efficient and sustainable means  of achieving the desired goals of each region. I worry every day that this world I grew up in will not be a place for my future children, and yet I hope to bring life into the world that takes a stand and makes the necessary changes.

Frances Eshom-Arzadon

I really like the “Oceans, Fisheries and Coastal Economies” article. I think it’s interesting and important to learn what other countries are doing in terms of implementing new laws and regulations and such to reduce environmental impact, become more sustainable, and better manage their natural resources. Fisheries management is essential for making sure we continue to have fish in the sea in the future because so many are poorly managed- if managed at all, and less studied but estimated to be in poor shape. It’s cool to hear about the good things that are happening instead of just hearing about the bleak aspects of our future.

Kate Griffin

This week’s readings about the power and need to preserve the Ocean Economy through global ocean governance brought me once again to themes of entitlement on resources. The document Allen Framework for Global Ocean Governance, discussed the “Common Heritage of Mankind”. This concept about preserving territorial area, as well as, natural or cultural elements for future generations is obviously commendable, but I fail to see how it is being honored in situations such as DAPL construction despite treaties and the obvious ethical implications. The underlying matter in all of these legal actions is that a state can choose whether or not it is in their best interest to ratify and abide. What action would be taken if a state didn’t agree and whose actions radically opposed the principles of this global ocean governance? Would we start war to save Earth’s resources? This could lead to contemplation on the complexity of issues surrounding humankind, entitlement to resources and the idea of nuclear defenses to preserve these resources. (whether for the sake of nature itself or mankind)

Alyssa Scott

Perhaps I'm reading this incorrectly, but according to Allen's Framework for Global Ocean Governance, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which acts to "provide the modern legal framework for peacetime uses of the oceans" was criticized for not establishing a governing body or regular meetings. To combat this, the U.N General Assembly established the U.N Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (note the underlines I created). To me this seems like such a callous move - to have developed a program to show the public that they were creating change and then not falling through with it. It is this sort of business that made me want to do my 340 project on whether we have a justified right to blame our government for not doing enough in terms of environmental protection.

Karissa Shutt

I thought was interesting how the LOS convention “was viewed by many of the 117 States that signed it as the most comprehensive international law project ever completed”. There are so many things about the ocean that were covered as far as law of the sea, and still debates on who claims what, and even what lies beneath. The rules of procedure for the conference claimed that there is “a recognition that the problems of the sea are interrelated and need to be considered as a whole”. This struck me as a statement that can be applied to many issues of the world at large, along with the ocean’s prevalent issues. If you replaced the word "sea" with "world", it would imply people from all over the world coming together to face an issue. The ocean brings us together in this way.

Anna Sulc

This week I was surprised by how given the long time we have used the oceans as a food source, as transportation and for war, agreements and conventions such as the Law of the Sea have been put in to place quite recently. With land, air and even with space, countries all over the world were very quick to establish a set of boundaries but with the ocean, although it covers such a vast area of the globe, any international regulations were put in place only in the late 20th century. In addition to the recent laws that now govern the way the ocean is used; it was interesting to see what countries were most defensive of certain uses of the parts of the ocean compared to others depending on their situation (land locked countries wanted sea bed regulations to prevent economic advantage for coastal countries). I had always been convinced that apart from coastlines the ocean was an international, shared space but after having read the Law of the Sea, I began to wonder if the sea really did belong to everyone or, if much like the continents, it has already been divided.Another question was what problems could such a privatization create for the future conservation of the oceans if each country had a parcel that it could control even though the ocean is one large environment.

Byron Walker

This week, in regard to the topic of ocean commerce, economics, and law, the thing that stuck out to me most and surprised me was the extent to which laws are enforced and maintained, or rather they way that they are not. It strikes me as incredibly strange the way that disagreements can persist between who owns a particular patch of ocean. even between nations that get along rather well like the US and Canada. What is the actual effect of having overlapping claims such as in the South China Sea? I was also surprised about the way that old treaties and agreements like the old law of the sea have remained in effect. The changing environments like the northern ocean being more open have the potential to change some of the enforcement in favor of financial gain, which strikes me as immoral. I am particularly intrigued by the way nations respect and respond to the open ocean that no one owns.